Way up a holler between a couple of prominent knobs, below Panther (pronounced "Painter") Knob, we're building a log cabin. Go to the archives and start at the bottom for a chronological story. Comments are welcome! This diary of a project may digress and venture into literature, life, and my reflections on any particular day.

Coldholler needs livestock. This summer, we added a healthy population of rainbow trout, and next summer we'll get bees, not to mention 150 high-bush blueberry plants, some apple trees, and thornless raspberries. But as we decide what to do with the steeper 1/3-acre hillside below the trout ponds, now cleared of 100-foot pines, it seems that goats would be a great choice -- fun to watch and excellent to BBQ. They'll need shelter, so look for a second Coldholler Log Cabin!So, I built the gate for my fence since not much else made sense during the last three hours of daylight on a rainy afternoon. The boys helped me get it plumb, level, and square, and learned something I hope, as those things keep the world in alignment. Can't build the fence until I burn the slash, but I'll need a gate with a superstructure to route the hot wires over, to avoid burying them. Soon, after the fence, look for the log cabin and climbing structure. Lucky goats!Abel, always curious, analytical, and increasingly helpful, even beyond stripping poplar bark, helping with the gate, noticed its lack of wire:"Uh, Dad -- you know they can step right through this gate, right?Me: "I figure they'll go around first since there's no fence, so that won't be a problem."Abel: "Oh, yeah!"